ANOTHER 7-1 WIN

The Mets, one day after beating the Astros, 7-1, beat the Indians 7-1 on Wednesday. Not much of note from that game. More importantly, Pedro Martinez* had a good session throwing off some kind of mound - we'll see what the papers say tomorrow, but I think they're going to have to back off the "not making his Opening Day start" talk.

WBC ROUNDUP: I like watching these WBC baseball games - a real good one between Panama and Cuba when I got home from work today - I found myself rooting for Panama, perhaps because they were behind, perhaps because I dislike Cuba. Panama tied it in the 9th, but Cuba held on to win in extra innings.

While that game was ending, Canada built a big lead on the U.S., and the U.S. almost came back, but ended up losing 8-6. Now my worst-case scenario comes true - Roger Clemens pitches for a team I'm rooting for, in a clutch situation...so I have to root for him to come up lame or to get rocked early, then have the U.S. come back. Or maybe I just root against the U.S., so I can say it was Clemens' fault they lost.

What's all this Chase Field talk? The U.S. has been practicing/playing their games at Chase Field in Arizona. Is it Chase Field at Bank One Ballpark, or has Chase taken over Bank One, and there is no longer a BOB?

One last WBC note - Italy has a player named Mark Saccomano. I'm not sure if he's affiliated with a Major League team, but I think that's hilarious - and any 'Seinfeld' fan would probably think so too. I wonder if it's Bob's brother.

PROSPECT NOTE: The info on this guy is thin, so I haven't been able to dig up much on him - but watch out for Mitch Wylie. He's a pitcher who the Mets picked up in the Rule 5 draft out of the San Francisco Giants' organization. People have been raving about his stuff early on in spring training, including Ramon Castro, who caught him and started asking reporters about him. The Rule 5 rules mean that Wylie would have to stay on the Mets' 40-man roster or be given back to the Giants, so he might be making some Major League appearances - I'll keep you posted when I find out more about him.

Coming Tomorrow: Barring any big developments, Thursday I will deliver the promised fantasy baseball preview - meaning previewing what I have going on in the fantasy baseball department this coming year. Some interesting stuff - including an invite for you, the reader. So please check back!